Faster eaters tend to get fat
Updated: Mar. 19, 2009
People who eat their meals quickly, and continue eating until they are full are three times more likely to become
People who eat their meals quickly, and continue eating until they are full are three times more likely to become overweight, according to a study just published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ).
Researchers at the Osaka University School of Medicine found that how we eat, not just how much or what we consume, can contribute to how much weight we gain. They asked more than 3,000 Japanese ages 30 to 69 about their eating habits. Those who said they ate quickly and ate until full were three times more likely to be fat than people in the "not eating until full and not eating quickly" group.
In an accompanying BMJ editorial, the editors speculated that: "It may be that the changing sociology of food consumption, with fewer families eating together, more people eating while distracted (for example, while watching television), and people eating fast food while on the go all promote eating quickly.
My own distraction is eating at my desk far too often—suddenly lunch is gone. What are the things that have you eating too quickly or mindlessly?
